Blood vs. Loyalty

Poor Little Lambs

Holly sat in her office, spending her lunch break looking at daycares and a school for the kids. It was necessary now. Mallory was moving out of state and Jessica was in rehab. Brooke volunteered to watch Lilia while Holly and Jax were working. She found a daycare center that she really liked and she couldn't help but smile as a thought entered her mind. Gemma would've thrown a fit if she were still around and could see Holly now. She might've hated Gemma for everything that happened, but she missed the part of Gemma she grew up with. The fierce love she had for her family was something that she'd always admired. She looked over when her desk phone rang.

"Hello?"
"Holly, it's Johnny. There's someone down here that wants to see you. The new sheriff in town."
"Alright. Send her up."

She hung up and looked through the pictures of the daycare center, liking it more and more. She looked over when the sheriff came in.

"Sheriff. Come on in and have a seat. Can I get you some coffee?"
"No, but thank you. Althea Jarry. I came to introduce myself and ask you about a case of yours. The last case before your unfortunate tragedy."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before looking at her.

"I'm sorry. I know it's a difficult thing to talk about."
"You could've just told me the name of my client. You didn't have to bring that up."
"Right. Sorry. Angelica Masters and her 5-year-old son was found dead this morning by her mother and sister. Our prime suspect is her ex, but he's in the wind. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about him."

She cleared her throat, trying to swallow the bile that was attempting to rise in her throat, getting up to grab Angelica's files, handing them to the sheriff, blinking back tears.

"That's everything Angelica told me about Tyler and everything that happened since I met her."
"Wow. You recorded everything."
"It helped the case. Angelica got full custody of their daughter and I won the case."
"She had evidence of past abuse."
"Um...Yeah. Tyler was abusive to her for 4 years before she got pregnant. He threatened to kill her and take their children from her."
"Hence the attempted murder and child abuse charges coming in."
"Yeah. I went with her when she went to tell him that she was pregnant along with an officer. He broke her arm and gave her a minor concussion before the officer shot him in the shoulder. I hadn't seen him after that until the trial."
"You don't seem to be surprised about her being dead."
"I'm sad about it. She deserved better. But I've been in her place before. I was in an abusive relationship for two years only to be rewarded by put in a coma for a year. That kind of relationship doesn't usually end well. Things get worse and less hopeful when you add children into the mix. It's sad that Angelica and her son is gone. But I'll bet you that either she went to him or he escaped and went to her."
"Wow. Cynical."
"No. Like I said, that's my experience. I could've left my ex plenty of times while we were together, but most of my thoughts were about whether or not I could change him. I didn't pull myself out of that. I was pulled out by the man that ended up becoming my husband. Abusive relationships are nearly impossible to escape."
"Can you think of any reason why he would go after her?"
"To be honest, I will never know. And I doubt anyone else ever will. I'm a lawyer. Not a therapist. I couldn't tell you."

She watched Althea read through the files.

"You mind if I take this?"
"As long as you bring them back."

Holly sat in the living room, dialing the number for the daycare she'd found.

"Scribbles and Giggles daycare center, my name is Cheryl, how can I help you?"
"Hi, Cheryl. My name is Holly Teller. I've been looking for daycares to put my kids into, 3 of them anyway, and I ran across yours and I'm intrigued by it."
"I hope in a positive way."
"Very positive. The pictures made me kinda hopeful, actually."
"That's good. If you're interested in enrollment, we ask to meet the parent, parents or guardians first, get to know them first, then meet the children and then we go from there."
"Ok. Fair enough. Do I make an appointment?"
"You can if you'd like, but it's not necessary. You can come at any time during the day, but we close at 5."

She looked back, hearing the door open, waving at Jax, hearing the kids running to him.

"Do you have to meet both parents at the same time? I'm a lawyer and my husband owns a few businesses so he's constantly running back and forth."
"We'd prefer it that way but it's not required, no."
"Great. Thank you. I'll see you, Cheryl."
"You have a great day, Mrs. Teller."
"You too."

She hung up and looked over at Jax as he came in, kissing him softly when he reached her.

"Who were you on the phone with?"
"Daycare center. I've been thinking about it and I think that we should put the kids, except Lilia, in daycare. You've got both Diosas, Redwoody and now Scoops and I've got the firm. We're both really busy. I think it's a good idea."
"I don't know, babe."
"It'll be good for them. Get them ready for when they get to school, let them socialize with kids outside the club, though I love everyone, it'll do them good to know there are other people out there outside of our strange family. Don't just dismiss this, babe. Think about it, ok?"

Holly sat in Nero's room at Diosa, napping with the kids. It had been a long day at the firm and she was exhausted. Jax was supposed to come by later and take them home. She woke up and stretched, yawning deeply. She was about to go out and get herself some soda when she heard gunshots. She cursed under her breath and quickly put the kids in the closet before putting her purse and diaper bags before locking herself and the kids inside, keeping the kids asleep until everything was over. After what felt like an eternity, she didn't hear anything anymore. But she didn't wanna move in case the shooters were still there. So she waited. Until she heard Jax calling her name, unlocking the door and making sure it was really him, running into his arms.

"Where are the kids?"
"I locked them and myself in the closet until just now."

She walked back with him, getting him to help her get the kids back into the bed. Surprisingly, they slept through the whole thing.

"Are you ok?"
"Yeah. I didn't hear anyone come back here."

She leaned into him, feeling him kiss her head.

"And you didn't see anything?"
"Nothing. I don't know who they were. I thought you were out of guns, baby."
"We are. Somebody either didn't get the memo or they're not happy with us."